Valiant Ones Blu-ray King Hu 1975 Sammo Hung Kung Fu Martial Arts Wuxia Eureka

King Hu's last true wuxia epic on Blu-ray from a 4K restoration!

Introducing Eureka's Limited Edition Blu-ray release for 1975's The Valiant Ones. Perhaps the last true wuxia film directed by celebrated filmmaker King Hu, an undisputed master of the genre. Shot back-to-back with The Fate of Lee Khan (but not released until two years later), it stands as a worthy follow-up to his earlier works Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn and A Touch of Zen.

During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (Zhao Lei), China’s coastal regions have come under attack by wokou – Japanese pirates under the leadership of the infamous Hakatatsu (Sammo Hung). To combat this threat, the Emperor tasks a trusted general, Zhu Wan (Tu Kuang-chi), with assembling a group of skilled warriors to find and eliminate the pirates. Under the command of General Yu Dayou (Roy Chiao), the band of soldiers – including husband-and-wife sword-fighters Wu Ji-yuan (Pai Ying) and Wu Ruo-shi (Hsu Feng) – set out to draw Hakatatsu, his ally Xu Dong (Han Ying-chieh) and their pirate clan into a series of spectacular showdowns.

Inspired by historical events and featuring several storied figures drawn from Chinese history, The Valiant Ones is a standout wuxia film produced during the dying days of the genre, as audience tastes were shifting towards more grounded kung fu cinema.

IMPORTANT NOTE: An all-region Blu-ray player is required to view this movie. Standard U.S. Blu-ray players will NOT read Region B discs. If you're looking for a reliable all-region player, we've got you covered!

Limited Edition Features:

• A collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jonathan Clements
• Limited edition O-Card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) [2000 copies]

Features: 

• 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from a 4K digital restoration of the original negatives gifted by director King Hu to the Hong Kong Film Archive
• Uncompressed original Mandarin mono restored from the original soundtrack negative
• Optional English subtitles newly translated for this release
• Brand new audio commentary by Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
• Tony Rayns on The Valiant Ones – Brand new interview with critic and Asian film expert Tony Rayns
• Tsar of all the Wuxia - a new video essay by David Cairns
• The Life of a Lucky Stuntman – Brand new interview with stuntman Billy Chan
• My Father and I – Brand new interview with actor Ng Ming-choi
• Archival 2003 interview with actress Hsu Feng by Frédéric Ambroisine
• Memories of Hu – Archival 2003 interview with Roger Garcia (Hong Kong International Film Festival Society) by Frédéric Ambroisine
• Archival 2016 interview with actor Ng Ming-choi by Frédéric Ambroisine

Technical Specs:

• Country: Taiwan
• Language: Mandarin
• Year: 1975
• Runtime: 106
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Subtitles: Optional English Subtitles